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Aer Lingus passenger numbers down 25%

Aer Lingus - Passenger numbers down
Aer Lingus - Passenger numbers down

Aer Lingus has said that passenger numbers on its long-haul flights have fallen by more than 25% since this time last year.

The airline said its overall passenger numbers during last month were just 0.2% below those for the same month last year.

Total passenger numbers in October 2009 were 902,000, a decrease of 0.2% compared to October 2008.

There were 821,000 short-haul passengers, a 3.3% increase on October 2008.

However, long-haul passengers numbered 81,000, which was a 25.7% decrease on October 2008.

The overall load factor, or percentage of seats filled, was 74.6% in October, up 1.3 points from the same month last year.

The load factor on shorter routes was little changed at 77%, while the figure for long-haul routes rose 1.3 points to 70.1%.

During the year, Aer Lingus increased its capacity on short-haul routes by 6%, but cut routes and flights on its longer routes by more than 30%.

In another statement this morning, British Airways posted a loss before tax of £292m (€325m) for the six months to the end of September.

This compares with a profit of £52m (€58m) in the same period last year and includes the airline's first April-to-June loss since privatisation.